Term Insurance is Always A Good Choice

As an Insurance blogger I get really amped up when I find someone with a lot of juice who supports my opinion. This time,Ron Lieber writes a very persuasive article in the Your Money section of the New York Times.

Lieber illustrates my position on Term Life Insurance versus Universal or Whole Life Insurance by mentioning the fact that people today can expect less money from inheritance.

It might seem to be a roundabout way of singing the praises of term life insurance, but it makes perfect sense.

Briefly, the article factors in several trends popping up in todays world. People are living a lot longer, fewer people are benefiting from pension plans, medicare is paying for less and less of real medical costs, out of pocket health care costs are draining the savings of the elderly, and finally that equity is being taken out of homes that Americans traditionally tried to pay off in the past.

Let's face it. When you reach 65 and retire, you have a lot of living left to do and it costs money. So, when people need money, there are always financial companies willing to come up with products to make sure they meet the market demand for cash. Unfortunately, right now we see a lot of elderly people taking out reverse mortgages on their homes and cashing in large Insurance Policies.

Yes, I said it, you can cash in Universal and Whole Life Insurance policies to investors and get quick cash. If an individual has a Whole Life Policy worth $1million at the time of death, there are companies, and other investment groups willing to pay you pennies on the dollar and assume the payments of those premiums. What they hope for is a big pay off when you die. It sounds a bit unethical but people are doing it. You might get $100,000 on that $1Million dollar policy and that is very enticing to someone in need of cash.

What it says to me is that Whole Life and Universal Life Insurance Policies do not greatly benefit the insured. They benefit the Insurance Provider and those who are left behind. If investor are looking to buy your life insurance policy, you have to begin to understand that these insurance policiesare investment products and do a very poor job of providing insurance coverage to you and your family.

Now back to my Lieber's article for a moment, because he mentions term life insurance policies specifically, and in a way that backs up my Term, Term,Term, mantra. Lieber says "the popularity of term life insurance, where policy holders are covered for 10 or 20 years or so but then get nothing afterward if they don't get a new policy, could also have an impact. Many people stop buying term life insurance after their children become adults or once a spouse dies. Their heirs will get nothing in the way of a pay out."

So as people age, one would reasonably assume that their assets are accruing and their financial obligations are decreasing. Children are grown and educational obligations are probably in the past and there is really less to insure to maintain the lifestyle if the bread winner dies. This is why insuring your family for a specific period of time and for a specific amount becomes such a valuable financial tool.

It is important to keep in mind that Life Insurance is intended to replace lost income in the event of a death. Term Life Insurance is the most cost effective way to achieve that goal. Do not invest in Insurance products to make money. Invest in Term Insurance to replace money!